Thibaut Courtois to Senne Lammens: Belgium’s tearful changing of the guard

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off with a muscle injury in Spain’s 2-1 FIFA World Cup quarter-final defeat after admitting he could no longer kick the ball properly.

The 34-year-old has been one of Belgium’s best players throughout the tournament and once again kept Spain at bay at the SoFi Stadium before suffering an injury midway through the second half. Courtois was treated on the pitch and briefly tried to continue before eventually being replaced by Senne Lammens.

After the match, Courtois explained that he initially wanted to play after the cooling-off break, but quickly realized that he was unable to perform one of the key aspects of his game.

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“We had a hydration break and I wanted to continue, but it’s true that I couldn’t kick the ball 80 meters,” said Courtois.

“Then the coach said, ‘If you’re not at 100 percent, I’m going to take you off.’ The decision was up to the coach. I didn’t ask to come off.”

Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia confirmed the substitution was made because his goalkeeper was apparently suffering from physical problems and was no longer able to take long goal kicks, a vital part of Belgium’s game.

Courtois’ withdrawal proved to be the turning point.

Lammens was called into action immediately after trading the veteran, but endured a rough start. In the 88th minute, Pau Cubarsi’s low effort slipped between the grips of the substitute goalkeeper, allowing Mikel Merino to pounce on the rebound to fire Spain into the World Cup semi-finals.

The emotional scenes after the final whistle reflected how much the moment meant to Courtois. The Real Madrid keeper was seen in tears on the Belgium bench before later consoling Lammens, whose costly mistake ultimately decided the match. Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois looks dejected after being substituted due to injury. (Image: Reuters)

The injury also capped off a frustrating tournament for Belgium, who were already missing several influential players. Captain Youri Tielemans was ruled out before kick-off, while Amadou Onana was already sidelined with an ACL injury suffered in the Round of 16 win over the United States.

Although Belgium pushed Spain all the way and equalized through Charles De Ketelaere after Fabian Ruiz’s opener, Merino’s late strike sealed a 2-1 win for the European champions and booked a semi-final meeting with France.

There is no official diagnosis yet on the severity of Courtois’ injury, but the goalkeeper suggested it was more of a muscle problem than an impact injury. Whether this requires a lengthy recovery will likely become clearer once the Belgian medical staff completes further evaluation.

For Belgium, Courtois’ substitution will go down as one of the defining moments of a heartbreaking World Cup exit that saw the Red Devils force extra-time within minutes before an unfortunate goalkeeping error ended their campaign.

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Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

Jul 11, 2026 03:58 IST